Dovizioso: ‘Cooler weather only better for us’

Andrea Dovizioso is quietly confident heading to Assen, believing Ducati Team could make the most of cooler temperatures in Round 7.

Ducati is yet to triumph at Assen since Casey Stoner took the chequered flag in 2008, but the team’s best result so far this season is its double top five finish amid the damp and wet conditions of Le Mans just over a month ago.

“First of all, the weather should certainly be a bit cooler in Holland than it was in Barcelona and that can only be good for us,” Italian Dovizioso begins. “The Assen circuit isn’t like it used to be when it was one of the nicest tracks on the calendar and it’s completely different from the last couple of tracks we’ve been to. I’m curious to see how the Desmosedici will go at Assen.

“We’ll use the same bike that we had at Barcelona, so without the updated frame. I must admit that I haven’t had much luck at Assen and that I’ve only had a pair of third place finishes in the last two years, so we hope to go better this time!”

Teammate Nicky Hayden won in The Netherlands when riding for Repsol Honda Team in 2006, but heads into the 2013 race event with realistic expectations.

“It was nice to be home for a weekend for the first time in quite a while, but I certainly feel fresh and ready to come back strong and finish out this next little stretch of races before the summer break,” says the World Champion of seven years ago.

“The next three rounds are all at tracks that I like a lot and Assen in particular is a great circuit with a great history; I really enjoy it and I feel focused and ready. Hopefully we can use the information from the test in Barcelona to have a good race.”

The Ducati Team duo are currently separated by just 14 points, with Dovizioso on 59 and Hayden on 45 for sixth and seventh positions in the Riders’ Championship.